Ham radio pals keep ready for emergencies

Four decades of friendship and a common love
of ham radio operations culminated in an annual, 24-hour
communications field day.

Three men whose shared hobby cemented their
friendship as teenagers 41 years ago, tested their emergency radio
system this weekend, making sure they are ready to assist local,
state and national authorities in case of a disaster.

"We grew up together on Staten Island and got
interested in ham radios," said Scott Leyshon of Tinc Road in the
Bartley section of Flanders.

Leyshon, 56, hostedthe 24-hour "Field Day" at
his home, from 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 23 to 2 p.m., Sunday, June
24.

"It is an emergency preparedness event," said
Leyshon. "If the power goes out during a disaster and disrupts
communications, ham operators often fill in the gap."

Leyshon said he was joined by his longtime
friends, Vincent Biancomano of Washington Township and David
Mitchell of Bridgewater Township, along with several other amateur
radio enthusiasts, commonly called "ham radio
operators."

"No one knows where the name "ham" came
from," said Biancomano. "There are a lot of stories, but none of
them have been proven."

Biancomano said one story has it that many
years ago in England, someone used the term amateur radio, and an
Englishman, with his own accent, pronounced it more like "hamateur
radio." Supposedly, the term ham stuck.

Fast Friends

The hobby has helped Mitchell, Biancomano and
Leyshon maintain a firm friendship over the years. For the past 41
years all three have dedicated the third weekend in June to their
annual Field Day.

"We'll use gas-fueled portable generators and
solar panels as a source of energy, since the goal is to be able to
operate during a wide-spread power failure," said Leyshon. "We
won't know how many radio operators will respond or where they are
located until the training session begins."

Leyshon said ham radio operators are
important to emergency preparedness plans even in this day of
advanced technology with computers, cell phones, and similar
devices.

"Emergency preparedness and public service
have always been an integral part of amateur radio and it's more
important now than ever," said Mitchell. "In times of natural
disaster conventional communication systems such as cell phones and
telephones can fail."

ications for FEMA, the Red Cross, Salvation
Army, police, fire, rescue squads, and other state and local
government agencies. Most recently, the Bergen County Red Cross
called upon hams to assist them with communications during the
flooding this year, Mitchell said in a statement.

"During Sept. 11 local hams set up a relay
station because communications in New York City were affected,"
said Leyshon.

Leyshon said that after Hurricane Katrina
there were many areas where ham operators transmitted information
to authorities and the Red Cross, letting them know what was needed
by people in areas where telephone lines were down and damaged cell
towers or exhausted cell phone batteries cut off contact with the
outside world.

"Ham operators helped out all across the
Pacific following the big Tsunami," said Leyshon.

Using both homemade and commercial radio
equipment powered by generators, batteries, and solar energy, hams
will operate their stations under simulated emergency conditions
for the 24-hour period beginning at 2 p.m. on Saturday. The purpose
is to contact as many stations as possible. Last year, the locals
contacted more than 550 hams across the United States and Canada
using traditional voice and Morse code.

"Use of the newer digital modes is encouraged
to keep us up to date with technology," Leyshon said. "When we
contact another station we exchange our call sign, our location,
and a number-letter combination indicating the number of
transmitters in operation and how we are set up in the
field."

"Every year we try to bring some new
equipment or technology to the event," said Leyshon. "This year we
constructed an expanded emergency power system using solar panels
to charge batteries that power our radio. If it wasn't for events
like Field Day, hams would be less likely to give this type of
equipment the "acid test" for actual emergencies."

Leyshon said there are more than 300,000
active amateur radio operators in the United States and many
participate in similar field days, which have been sponsored by the
American Radio Relay League (ARRL), a national organization, since
the 1930s.

Joining the three friends for the second year
was another Mount Olive resident, Jane Tymko, and Ian Stirling from
Washington Township.

An early interest in radio and technology
significantly influenced the three friends in their lifelong
careers.

Leyshon is a computer specialist and vice
president of DigiTrain, a software development company. His
mechanical and electronics skills have made him the de facto team
leader.

Although Mitchell pursued a medical career,
he is active with the Boy Scouts as well as a member of two other
organizations that provide emergency communication services. He has
also completed emergency response training.

Biancomano is a technical editor with degrees
in engineering and meteorology and he has authored several papers
on radio theory and meteorology, including one co-authored with
Leyshon. He is a specialist in communicating using Morse
code.

"I became interested in ham radios because of
the technology," said Leyshon. "I also liked the ability to be able
to talk to others all over the world. When we began there weren't
any cell phones, text messaging or personal computers. Just calling
someone in the next county was considered long
distance."

Biancomano, who became interested in ham
radios at the age of 12, said he used to listen in on what was
called the "graveyard net" as a boy in Staten Island.

"The graveyard net was a bunch of guys who
came off the late shift and talked on their radios at 4 a.m.," said
Biancomano.

As a youth, Biancomano said he was torn
between an interest in radio technology and meteorology.

"In the 1950's I used my radio to find
weather stations then planned my own weather maps," said
Biancomano. "I got my ham license when I was 15, a little older
than most."

In pre-Internet days, Biancomano used his ham
radio activities to form friendships in other countries which led
to his traveling distances and meeting many people.

In 1974 he began talking with another
operator in England, and the two formed a friendship that continues
today. The two young men traveled to Monaco, where they met actors
Cary Grant and Roger Moore.

"We were going on the same plane, and he
(Moore) offered to help me carry some of the equipment I had with
me. He was really nice," Biancomano said.

Another ham in Brooklyn, N. Y. introduced
BIancomano to Maynard Fergusen, the great jazz artist.

"He was amazing," said Biancomano. "Right up
until he was 78 years old he traveled around the country eight
months out of the year to visit high schools, promoting the
trumpet. I met him in 1965."

Biancomano said things have changed since he
first became involved in amateur radio.

"It isn't as much about the technology," said
Biancomano. "Most of us got involved because we wanted to explore
how radio works. Ham radio uses low frequency technology that
bounces signals off the ionosphere instead of things like
satellites. This is a hobby that costs the government nothing, but
can fill in when the higher frequencies are affected by
something."

Anyone interested in learning more about
amateur radio can visit www.arrl.org,

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